Bone tissue is
steroid-responsive and profoundly regulated by
steroids and/or their receptors. Bone
cancers (either primary or metastatic) belong to the most dangerous
tumors. Previous studies have demonstrated overexpression of
steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3) in many
cancers, such as
breast cancer,
prostate cancer,
thyroid cancer, functioning in the regulation of
cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and
metastasis. However, so far, the expression and function of SRC-3 in bone
cancers have not yet been clarified. In this study,
nickel-intensified immunohistochemistry was conducted using a commercial tissue microarray (with 94 cases of
bone cancer tissue and 10 normal bone tissues), and the 4-scoring system was employed to evaluate the expression levels of SRC-3 immunoreactivity. The results showed that in normal bone tissue, levels of SRC-3 are almost negative (score=0), the total positivity (score=1-3) of SRC-3 immunoreactivities in bone
cancers was 74.47%. There were no significant differences in gender, status (malignant or benign) or (mean) age (p>0.05). The percentage of positivity was 77.78% in osteogenic
tumors, 58.82% in cartilage
tumors, 70% in
giant cell tumors, 100% in hematopoietic
tumors, 77.78% in miscellaneous lesions, and 75% in miscellaneous
tumors. Age related differences of SRC-3 immunoreactivities were detected in cartilage
tumors and
giant cell tumors (p<0.05). The above results clearly demonstrated a high frequency of overexpression of SRC-3 immunoreactivities in different bone
cancers, indicating its potential roles in the prognosis and treatment of these
cancers.